Tim's annual NBA All No-Defense Teams always crack me up: My mid-season NBA All No-Defense Team candidates: Nash, Martin, Jamison, Crawford… and more [Talking Points}
Some Warriors MIA on the list (and we're not talking Paper Planes) after the jump.
Kelenna Azubuike: Just can't stay in front of many swingmen in this league. The focus on this side of the ball isn't always there.
Marco Belinelli: He's at least trying on D which he wasn't doing last year, but his footwork is poor and he doesn't seem to have much grasp of proper positioning. Makes you wonder if he's even paying attention on this side of the ball sometimes.
Andris Biedrins: Easily the Warriors most overrated defender and one of the worst big men in the league in this area. He's incredibly soft down low and for some reason still thinks it's a good idea to jump straight up in the air when someone is driving down the lane without making a play on the ball. Every time Nellie subs in Ronny Turiaf for him the team gets a HUGE defensive upgrade down low.
Monta Ellis: They said... you should try to play D once in awhile. Even during his breakout year last season, he routinely surrendered career nights to random NBA scrubs. On D other players ride him... ride him like a moped! (Sorry bad joke.)
Corey Maggette: If only getting a stop got him to the free throw line. He'd be much more motivated. The silly Mike Dunleavy-esque flops need to go.
C.J. Watson: I guess D-League doesn't stand for Defensive League. Arguably the worst defender on this team.
Brandan Wright: Absolutely lost on D thus far in his NBA career. If he doesn't put on some weight, you just can't play him at the 4 spot with that kind of mismatch. Very worrisome if he's a franchise "cornerstone".
Anthony Randolph: He makes the highlight blocks, but aside from that his D is nonexistent. Add in the turnovers and you can see why his high school and college teams lost far more games than they won.
I have to give it up to Ronny Turiaf. He's the one Warriors who's consistently brought it on D (though not without some mistakes) this entire season. It's impressive especially given that he's playing alongside such a defense(less) roster. Props to him for staying motivated. He goes for the swat more often than I'd like, although I must admit I do love the block party. He's Adonal Foyle with a decent jumper for a big man.
If Turiaf could only rebound, I'd be shopping Biedrins around hard to try and pick up a disgruntled big man a la Amare Stoudemire or Carlos Boozer (risky with his upcoming free agency though) or some kind of All-Star talent ideally at the 1. Here's an idea- start Turiaf for D alongside the defenseless starters and bring Biedrins off the bench for instant boards.
Are the Dubs as defense(less) as I've made them out to be?